Boston photography exhibit focuses on Frederick Douglass

Thursday

Feb 16, 2017 at 7:00 AM

Douglass, an escaped slave, 19th century abolitionist, orator and author, posed for photos nearly everywhere he traveled because he saw the potential of the new art form to present an alternative to demeaning images of African Americans. The exhibit is at the Museum of African American History on Beacon Hill.

Given the head-scratching that followed Trump’s words, the exhibit “Picturing Frederick Douglass: The Most Photographed American of the 19th Century” is particularly timely. Douglass, an escaped slave, 19th century abolitionist, orator and author, posed for photos nearly everywhere he traveled, not out of vanity, but because he saw the potential of the new art form to present an alternative to demeaning images of African Americans.

“He instantly recognized photography as a crucial aid to his vision of a free, democratic and egalitarian society,” explains the introductory panel in the exhibit at the Museum of African American History in Boston. “To Douglass, photography was the great ‘democratic art’ that would assert black humanity and counter racist minstrelsy caricatures that had come to define public perceptions of what it meant to be black.”

Curated by professors John Stauffer, of Harvard University, and Zoe Trodd, of the University of Nottingham, the exhibit is based on their recent book “Picturing Frederick Douglas.” In addition to dozens of photographs from 1841 to 1895, the nearly 100 items include Douglass’ books and speeches, as well as newspaper and magazine articles, interpreted for visitors with engaging graphics and text.

“Frederick Douglass was innovative and used photography as we use social media today,” said L’Merchie Frazier, director of education and interpretation at the Museum of African American History. “He wanted to project the integrity and strength of African Americans, and he left a legacy for us to continue to use art for social justice.”

To Douglass, photographs revealed the truth, while sketches and paintings reflected the bias of the artist. He believed “a camera remained objective even in the hands of racist whites.”

The exhibit also offers an interesting overview of the early days of photography, showing its development from the silver-plated copper sheets of daguerreotypes in the 1840s to the film cameras of Eastman Kodak in the 1880s.

By the mid-1850s, photography had become so popular that studios existed in every city and county of the free states. Many professional photographers sought out Douglass, who traveled throughout the free states promoting the dignity and rights of African Americans. Telling his own story about his escape from slavery in Maryland and free life in New Bedford, he urged leaders and citizens to oppose slavery, and after abolition, to create an egalitarian society, for women as well as African Americans.

In portrait photographs, Douglass looked dignified, stern, and unsmiling, a deliberate contrast to the popular depiction of blacks with wide grins. He wore a white dress shirt, black coat and neckpiece, and often looked straight ahead. Along with his high cheekbones and intense gaze, his most prominent feature was his facial hair, which ranged from a goatee, full beard with moustache or walrus moustache.

His face and upper body fill the entire photo, which in most cases has no background image or props. A notable exception is an 1870 photo by George Schreiber where Douglass holds the cane of President Lincoln, given to him after Lincoln’s assassination by his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. As explained in the exhibit, Lincoln met with Douglass three times at the White House, and expressed his respect when he said, “There is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours.”

Douglass was, in some ways, the nation’s first black celebrity because millions of Americans recognized him. His 1845 and 1855 autobiographies, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” and “My Bondage and My Freedom” were best sellers.

In 1883, Harper’s Weekly, one of the most popular papers in the country, put his portrait on the cover. As seen in the exhibit, he is photographed in partial profile directly his gaze slightly to the side, with his long hair ending at his fully-bearded jaw. This contrasts with photos before Emancipation, when Douglass often had clenched fists and stared directly at the camera.

A number of exhibit items reveal Douglass at historic moments. He stands near Lincoln in a photograph of the second inauguration, and he exhorts the crowd in a Winslow Homer etching depicting “The Expulsion of Negroes and Abolitionists from Tremont Temple” in Boston in 1860.

There’s a rare photo of Douglass writing at his desk and another of him smiling, the last known photo of him taken in New Bedford in 1894 shortly before his death in 1895.

In his remarks about Black History Month, Trump also said that Douglass “is being recognized more and more, I notice.” Millions of American recognized Douglass in the 19th century, and the current exhibit should raise his profile in Boston. But what Douglass wanted more than recognition is printed on a large window shade in the exhibit. He told members of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in 1865: “What I ask for the Negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice.”

Jody Feinberg may be reached at jfeinberg@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @JodyF_Ledger.IF YOU GO . . . .WHAT: “Picturing Frederick Douglass: The Most Photographed American of the 19th Century”WHERE: Museum of African American History, 46 Joy St., BostonWHEN: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, through July ADMISSION: $5 adults, $3 youth and seniors, and free ages 12 and under. Information on $5 validated parking available on the web site, www.maah.org.